Found Love in a Graveyard

I have wanted to do a photo shoot in Stoke Newington's Abney Cemetery since I first visited it last winter. So when the idea of shooting Halloween for Lazy Oaf came up, there was no question in my mind about the location.

Dating back to 1840, Abney Park Cemetery is both a memorial park and woodland nature reserve with an ornate Chapel in the centre. This is currently under destruction and wasn't available to photograph in without pre-booking which was a shame as it is incredible looking.

I teamed up with friends and work colleagues Zoe Jade and Dee Monti to do this shoot. We wanted to give the normally bright, colourful Lazy Oaf collections more of a dark twist referencing one of our favourite classic teen films The Craft.

Zoe Jade, of Ladybird Likes, was our photographer shooting in both film and digital mixing black and white and colour. I like working with Zoe as we seem to have a similar vision and she has a great eye for composition. Dee was our model - she's fun to work with as she loves getting dressed up and is always up doing everything, and wearing anything.

With help from the girls, I put together the outfits mixing our personal clothing collections with key Lazy Oaf pieces. I work with Lazy Oaf designs everyday so it was good to get to take them out of context. The best thing about styling with your own clothes is that you instantly have five new outfit options, I've already tried to replicate two of these looks.

Abney Cemetery, Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 OLH, nearest station: Stoke Newington Overground. Open daily until 17:00pm. 


www.abney-park.org.uk

Dogs as People, People as Dogs

The other day I saw a tramp in Islington who had dressed his dog in a children's puffer jacket. It looked so good that my friend Lisa gave him a whole £5 note. Bear in mind we were on a on a night out and this was valuable drinking money. 

This made me realise that while there might be multiple brands selling customised dog outfits, we're far better dressing our four legged friends in our own hand me downs. They're a man's best friend after all and what best friends don't share clothes? 

I have collected some examples to show you what I mean, starting with the two above from the Pooch Parade in Dallas. 

No person could look quite as cool as these Shar-Pei's do in matching stripes and baseball caps. 

Think twice before binning that Hawaiian shirt from yesteryear. 

OK I'm cheating here as I think these might be personalised dogs puffer coats but you can achieve something similar with your own nineties cast-offs. Anyone remember Eisenegger?

Dogs look so good in our clothes that we've even started asking them to model to sell designs to humans like this guy above posing in a hoody for band The Midnight Beast. The 1,662 Facebook likes says it all. 

But the fun doesn't stop there. Not only can your dog wear your clothes but you can wear your dog thanks to these photo realist T-shirts from The Mountain T-shirt Store. 

It's my birthday in July everyone...

Alternatively you can go all out and cover yourself in every breed going like this proud looking man. 

Or simply settle for a rucksack like this tapestry one I bought on Amazon. I'm contemplating buying the matching suitcase but it might be taking it too far. 

I Need a Cat Need

I would never describe myself as a cat person. The first cat I ever held scratched me which hasn't helped plus my mum has always been allergic so cats have never been a big part of my life. 

However this all changed when I discovered these Exotics, a breed of Persian cat that I found at the Cat Need Cattery which is located in Foshan, China. 

With short fluffy coats and unrealistically massive eyes, they're like a cat version of Boo the famous Pomeranian and look like they have come straight from a manga cartoon. 

Exotic by name, exotic by nature, I suspect these cats come at a price, a price one day I might be willing to pay. 

I think this black male is my favourite, you can hear what a cat judge has to say about him by clicking here and watching the video. 

www.catneed.com

Where I Want To Live: The George Tavern

Last weekend I spent the day hanging out in one of East London's finest and most historic public houses The George Tavern on Commercial Road for a photo shoot I was doing at work. 

After visiting the pub for a film night a couple of years ago, I thought it would be the ideal location for a photo shoot so was really excited when the manager gave me the thumbs up. 

The pub has been standing for 700 hundred years and for over a decade, owners Pauline and Toby have transformed it into an arts, music and performance venue while still maintaining so much of its original character. 

Above the pub itself is a theatre room followed by a three storey house where the owners work and live. I was most taken with the attic bedroom , I met the man who was lucky enough to live in this room during his teens although these days it is more like a museum of curiosities. 

A table in the attic room was filled with what I believed to be a large collection of objects that had been found in the pub throughout the centuries including a mummified rat below. Gruesome. 

Hanging up in one of the rooms were a collection of singed knitted jumpers all from BHS. I want to try out this technique to my jumpers. 

One bedroom had been transformed into a dressing room with rails of the most enviable vintage and fancy dress clothes include these paper mache masks. 

The bar was home to this incredible pair of Spice Girl-esque platform trainers. After trying them out for size, I put them next to Maria's modern day flatforms to get the full effect. 

The George Tavern is open daily hosting film night on Monday, quiz night on Wednesday and gigs, exhibitions and vintage fairs throughout the weekend.  

The George Tavern, 373 Commercial Road, London E1 0LA, nearest station: Shadwell DLR or Whitechapel Underground. 

www.thegeorgetavern.co.uk

When I Grow Up I Want To Be: Cachetejack

A couple of weeks ago I attended the preview of London's number one graphic art fair and exhibition Pick Me Up at Somerset House. It was here that I had the pleasure of discovering Spanish illustration duo Nuria Bellver and Raquel Fanjul better know as Cachetejack

Combining whimsical hand drawings with witty, ironic statements, Cachetejack's work is seriously funny while being very easy on the eye. 

Taken from their illustrated manual Procreating is About Making Decisions, the above image, specifically How Men See Women, caused me to break down into tears of pure joy. I like how it's fearlessly matter-of-fact but completely ironic at the same time. 

What do you want to be when you grow up is an adults version of what we would have read at school and couldn't be more relevant to modern society where the majority of us are still asking that question at the age of 25 (what me?). 

If all prisoners looked like the chap above then I think girls would be trying to get themselves arrested left right and centre. Yes I know prisons are single sex but you know what I mean. 

I fancy this guy which I fear is a bad thing as he represents hipster style . I like the fact his face is blurry, I feel drunk just looking at him. 

See what else I liked at Pick Me Up on the Lazy Oaf blog. 

www.cachetejack.com

Top Shop: Kitsch Kitchen

I've been to Amsterdam a couple of times in my life but it wasn't until my trip last year that I realised how great it was for home ware shopping. A perfect example of this was Kitsch Kitchen on Rozengracht discovered by mum, who always has a keen eye for kitsch. 

The two storey supermarket is home to a mixture of Dutch and Mexican folk art inspired products that look like they have come straight from a Day of the Dead procession. 

Living up to its name, the store is packed full of plastic kitchen accessories, colourful toys, painted pottery and   fake flowers making it a total breath of fresh air compared to your average home shopping experience. I was in my element, so much so that I went back twice. 

It was impossible to miss the unbelievable selection of pinata's that filled the ceilings. I certainly wouldn't want to be whacking any of these with a stick. 

This satin shark cushion reminded me of this ornate Great White Shark Coffin from Ghana. I'm regretting not buying it. 

There was no way I was leaving empty handed, in fact my mum, sister and I bought so much that I decided to get it all out and photograph it back at our holiday home!

My favourite purchase were these neon orange and pink plastic flowers that now sit in the window of my flat. 

Visit the Kitsch Kitchen store at Rozengracht 8-12, Amsterdam and find out more at www.kitschkitchen.nl.